BENEFACTORS – Portraits of Alice Summers Ayling and her stepson Robertson occupy a corner of the Centerville Historical Museum where there will be a Victorian Lady’s Tea April 24. The Ayling wing of Cape Cod Hospital bears the family’s name.

Community lends antique cups and saucers

Have you longed for a decent cup of tea? Not the kind where they bring you a cup of lukewarm water and a bag on the side, but the kind that is hot and delicious and refreshing?

How about a cup brewed by a woman who brings her own china aboard airplanes?

You can get this treat at the Centerville Historical Museum (513 Main St.) during a Victorian Lady’s Tea on Saturday, April 24, from 1 to 3 p.m. And you can drink your tea from cups and saucers set on antique linens on old tables and chairs.

The tea benefits the museum, and the planning committee promises all the right touches: cubes of sugar to pick up with tongs, not packets from doughnut shops as committee members noticed at another organization’s tea; lemon slices; and whole milk, because there was no “half-and-half” back in the day.

All the foods will be freshly homemade, said a committee of six women who are organizing the adult tea, which is one of two they present each year as a fundraiser for the museum.

At each tea the committee offers an educational program. This time, committee member Barbara Fahrenholz will describe “the complete toilette” of a Victorian lady – “fashions, hairstyles, jewelry and scents,” according to museum publicity – while an assistant dresses a mannequin. Among the references that Farenholz will use for her talk will be issues from the time of the magazine Godey’s Lady’s Book. Previous programs have featured hats, parasols, and the language of fans.

The teas represent an expression of community, said committee members, who all live in Centerville. When they put out a call a few years ago for china and linens that would be right for formal teas, many people brought in cups and saucers, sugars and creamers, tablecloths and napkins that they had inherited from sisters, mothers, and grandmothers, not as loans but as gifts.

“Old stuff has a good home here,” said Susan Ford of the tea committee.

The tea raises money “to keep the doors open” at the museum, said Dianne Kelly of the committee. Susan Ford added, “We get lots of repeat customers.” Although there are still seats available for the April 24 tea, reservations have already come in from Plymouth, Bridgewater, and Scituate.

A pressing need right now at the Centerville Historical Museum is an outside paint job, with all of the careful prep included. A board member who is a carpenter is donating the labor for a new porch roof.

One volunteer, who cannot attend this spring’s tea, actually lives in Carmel, N.Y., and brings friends with her for museum events. When she and her husband retire, they plan to live on–Cape, but for now her summers include the museum.

May and June offer more events at the Centerville Historical Museum. Another “Fancy Nancy” tea for “little girls ages 4 years old and up to attend with special adult women in their lives” is scheduled for Saturday, May 1, at 2. On May 4, an exhibit of Centerville history opens, And on May 6, the museum sponsors one of its many field trips, this one to the Johnson & Wales University Museum of Culinary Arts and Hospitality in Rhode Island.

The Johnson & Wales trip is described in museum publicity as a “collection of 70,000 objects and five centuries of irreplaceable culinary treasures.” It leaves from the Our Lady of the Assumption parking lot in Osterville at 9 on the morning of May 6 and expects to return by 4 in the afternoon.

On June 4, from 6 to 8 p.m., the Capt. David Kelly House will host a reception to raise funds for the museum. The B&B is just steps away from the museum. At this event, there will be prizes given to the woman and man in the best period costumes, especially if someone finds a real sea-captain’s uniform, the committee agreed.

This group does well on authenticity. Kelly reported with a smile that a flight attendant on Aer Lingus loved her china cup when she offered it for tea.

The Victorian Lady’s Tea costs $20 for members of the Centerville Historical Museum, and $25 for non-members. Same prices for “Fancy Nancy” for young girls and their adult women escorts. The bus trip to Johnson & Wales is $55 for members and $60 non-members, including lunch. Advance registration is required for all events, at 508-775-0331.

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